MCD Elections 2025: The three civic bodies, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), were re-unified into a single entity on May 22, 2022, as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reclaimed power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after a gap of almost two years, after Raja Iqbal Singh became the new mayor of the national capital on Friday (April 25). Raja Iqbal received around 133 votes, Congress candidate Mandeep Singh got 8 votes, and one vote was declared invalid. A total of 142 votes were cast. With the AAP boycotting the election and the Congress reduced to a marginal presence, the saffron party comfortably swept the civic posts, solidifying its control over Delhi through the Centre.
Raja Iqbal was the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the MCD and had previously served as the mayor of North MCD.
BJP candidate becomes Deputy Mayor in Delhi
BJP’s Jai Bhagwan Yadav was elected unopposed as the Deputy Mayor after the Congress candidate Ariba Asif Khan withdrew her nomination for the post of Deputy Mayor. The BJP has nominated Yadav from the Begumpur ward for the Deputy Mayor post.
Senior BJP leader Raja Iqbal Singh earlier told the media that Delhiites have entrusted the BJP with the responsibility of fixing the city’s problems. He said that elections for the standing committees will be held promptly now.
AAP abstains from mayoral polls
The Aam Aadmi Party has decided to abstain from the mayoral polls, saying that the BJP should “rule Delhi without any excuses.” The elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were scheduled for today. Earlier, AAP controlled the mayoral post, as Mayor Mahesh Kumar Khinchi won the election in November 2024 by just three votes.
The three civic bodies, East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), were re-unified into a single entity on May 22, 2022, as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Total seats in MCD
The current strength of the MCD is 238, as 12 seats lie vacant due to some councillors getting elected to the Delhi Assembly and one to Lok Sabha. Out of 250 seats, BJP has 117 councillors, up from 104 in 2022, while AAP’s tally has dropped to 113 from its earlier 134. Congress holds just eight seats.
The electoral college for the mayoral election includes 238 councillors, 10 MPs (seven from the Lok Sabha and three from the Rajya Sabha) and 14 MLAs Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta has nominated 11 BJP and 3 AAP MLAs as the electors.
